Hi all,
I'm not going to comment on how moral it is to buy a type rating or pay for hours on type, but rather touch on past history. I started flying 14 yrs ago and back then there was only one way to getting into the RHS of a passenger jet....PPL, CPL, MULTI IR, INSTRUCTOR RATING, +1500 Instructor experience, +500 Multi Engine Piston and then maybe you were looking at flying a turbo prop for another +1000 or if you were lucky you got that RHS job. Back then all operators would laugh if you sent them a CV with less than 3000 TT, because time in your logbook was considered as experience, but not just experience....it meant you made sacrifices in your life to reach that experience as jobs were not at your local international airport.
You may ask why? or how did airlines cope?
Prices were high to fly at the time and the public trusted that the two super heroes in front were pilots with huge amounts of experience and that if anything went wrong both were equally qualified or experienced to handle a major emergency.
Think of who you would want in the RHS if you were flying as a PAX? 300hrs or +3000hrs? Who's seen more problems and emergencies?
Unfortunately things have changed. Most PAX believe that governments and overseeing bodies such as Unions would never allow low times pilots to fly such complex machines and play with their lives, yet they are mistaken.
My opinion now: Only three things can change this situation
1. CAA (example: must have ATPL to sit in RHS)
2. Union, Media, Government (via pax finding out who really is flying them)
3. Insurance Company (require specific requirements for RHS)
Good luck to everyone in these hard times.